Particularly during uncertain and challenging times, we probably notice that everywhere we turn, we seem to be surrounded by negativity. We may feel it affecting us, causing us to feel anxious, tired, fed-up, and even more irritable. Interestingly, cognitive science can explain this. There is......
The last few months whilst locked in together may have taken many of you to levels of emotional exhaustion and compassionate fatigue. It is normal to have periods where we feel our children are testing us to the limit, but with the demands of teaching......
Times are challenging for us at the present time. Emotional Freedom Technique to manage anxiety can help promote a sense of calm. Many of us may be managing illness, working at home with our children, home schooling, worrying about home finances or what the new......
The current coronavirus pandemic has given rise to unparalleled challenges at every level of society. The closure of schools and restrictions on movement for both adults and children has meant that many families face enormous challenges as they try to navigate through new ways of......
I hope you are well and your days are peppered with gentleness and calm. One of the main themes that runs through a lot of the psychological work that we do is the importance of acceptance. Many children and young people struggle with accepting certain......
Children need to be able to develop and foster resilience, even in difficult times. Resilience is the ability to cope during challenging and difficult times, which we are all facing in this unusual and worrying time. When we experience stressful situations, it is common to......
As you are all aware, the changes we have experienced in the last month or so due to the coronavirus outbreak have been enormous and have happened at an extraordinarily fast rate. Our brains are programmed to find comfort in familiarity and routine, whereby we......
Children need structure, routine and to have a sense of a predictable day. A structured day is vital for children’s well-being as it provides them with a sense of purpose, direction, familiarity and routine. Attending school provides children with that structure. From getting ready at......
There are many emotions that we are feeling during this period of lockdown. We will undoubtedly have experienced periods of denial and possible disbelief in the early days, that this situation has come to what it has in such a short space of time. Some......
During the first couple of weeks of self-isolation lockdown, when the novelty and our motivation was high, many of us were busy doing things around the house that had needed our attention for a while. These activities helped to distract us from the intense reality......
For even the most laid back of us, this is a time where it is difficult not to feel worried about the future. There is an air of uncertainty and worry at the moment, and you may have found yourself feeling increasingly stressed or consumed......
There is no doubt that at the current time, the world and everything in it feels very surreal to us all. Our human minds are programmed to find comfort in familiarity and routine, whereby we can plan and feel prepared for the events that are......
Many of us, without any previous training or experience, have now become the homeschool educators for our children. This is going to bring many challenges for us as parents and for our children and young people who are transitioning from school to home learning environments.......
As we all know, and are most definitely all feeling, the coronavirus is impacting on us on a global scale. This is unprecedented in every way which is why we are activating higher levels of unease due to the uncertainty of what lies ahead, with......
The emotional difficulty we are all currently facing is that we can’t escape the impending doom of what the coronavirus is being made out to be; it is everywhere. This constant bombardment is naturally going to activate a sense of danger within us. Once this......
Recently we have seen a huge shift in the pace at which we address the coronavirus issue. As adults, I think we will all agree that this feels almost surreal in what we are experiencing, as if we have become extras in a film we......
An important component of positive psychology is recognising how our thoughts affect how we feel and in turn what we believe about ourselves and the world that we live in. The diagram below helps us understand how process feeds into the other. It is important......
With non-typically developing children we can never presume that they know what they could do, how they could act and what the outcome for their behaviour choices will be. Emotional literacy provides this information in a nurturing way so that the child does not feel......
Most of us, regardless of age, light up when we are told something that makes us feel that we are getting it right or doing something well. However, for a minority of non-typically developing children, praise can actually make them feel more uncomfortable and worse......
Typically developing children naturally progress through the different stages of emotional development and become confident, trusting, accepting young people who embrace diversity and become independent learners. However, emotional development involves many complex stages which can be hindered with inconsistent parenting, lack of sensitivity or nurture,......
Neuroscience is revealing more and more about the ways in which teenagers’ brains are different to adults’ brains. Understanding how this impacts on their thinking, mood and behaviour can be very helpful and sometimes quite reassuring for those of us that work with them. With......
Communication is the basis of human and non-human interaction. We can all communicate with a touch or a sound, a look or a symbol, a word or a sentence and also by doing or saying nothing at all. Communication can be verbal and non-verbal and......
Shyness is an emotional state which combines a behavioural reserve and elements of anxiety when faced with social situations. It is normal for all children to experience it sometimes as part of learning about life and growing up. Toddlers up to roughly two years old......
Many young people struggle with life events and growing up which can leave them in a heightened state of mental and emotional pre-occupation. This can be based on weakened attachment issues, traumatic life events, temperament types or experiencing difficult times. These issues can drive underlying......
As some of you might recall, form a psychology blog that I sent a few months ago that emotional development begins with the fundamental stages of being and doing. These stages are essential for young people to have a sense of self and feel that......
Positive psychology is a relative new field in psychology terms and has only been around for approximately 30 years. The concept is that if we do not recognise and value key positive traits within our lives, it impacts negatively on mental health and well-being. The......
One’s life is full of challenges and stresses, which play essential role in evolution of our skills, strengths and qualities and sadly can drive us into mental and physical exhaustion at the same time. The truth is that emotional reaction to losing a teddy bear......
Working with children and young people can be one of the most rewarding jobs on the planet or one of the most frustrating and difficult! When we, as the active adults working with tomorrow’s adults feel that our relationship is collaborative and strong, there is......
There is much research that shows that self-esteem plays a huge role in children developing in their quest of discovering and building their strong selves. Self- esteem is a key element of emotional well-being for children to be curious and confident enough to keep trying......
Many young people may be dealing with, on a daily basis, feelings of unworthiness and a lack of personal value. This factor could be influenced by external issues such as early year’s experiences, the quality of relationships in the young person’s life or within child......
Many young people’s thoughts are dominated with a high level of negative mental chatter which research suggests can be as much as 12,0000 words a minute at times of severe distress. This cognitive thought process can also be driven with overtly high expectations of what......
Many of the young people who are referred to me have delayed emotional development and usually low self-esteem. These two factors interfere hugely with how a child or young person views mistakes. As many of you will be aware, acknowledging and recognising mistakes can be......
I am going to share regular behavioural psychology approaches with you, in the hope that it will not only inform but more so, to make you think. This cognitive reflective practice is at the heart of all the work I am doing in schools and......
Anxious children show amazing courage by coming into school every day in spite of overwhelming feelings of loneliness, fear and a perceived lack of belonging within school. For those of you out there who teach children and young people who present with anxiety issues, you......
What is anxiety? Anxiety is a completely normal emotion that everybody experiences. It is the body’s way of responding to and preparing for a dangerous or stressful situation. Despite it being perfectly normal to feel anxious, the feeling of panic caused by anxiety can be......
I know, I know, we all know bullying is wrong and we do all we can to prevent it but have you ever stopped to consider what effects it can have on a young person and how much their education can suffer as a result?......
Feeling angry is something we all experience from time to time. Anger is often viewed as a negative emotion but it is completely normal to feel it and it is very important for creating the drive needed to make positive change and progress. If it is expressed......
Many young people struggle with accepting certain situations or circumstances in their life which in turn affects mental health and quality of life. Many conversations follow a pattern with regard to an incident whereby the young person was unable to accept the situation, request or sanction. Sometimes because......